


Pieces of Your Heart

by tide_ms



Category: Mamamoo
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Legends, Magical Artifacts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 12:52:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9072496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tide_ms/pseuds/tide_ms
Summary: Yongsun and Byulyi fall into an adventure.





	

**Author's Note:**

> \- This was written for unnideul fic exchange 2016, for Recipient: x_disturbed_x @ lj. Originally posted [Here](http://unnideul.livejournal.com/27546.html).
> 
> \- Insipired by Mamamoo - Um Oh Ah Yeah mv. (Though, it drifted far away from the mv.)
> 
> \- Rated teen/PG-13 for for one explicit word. Also there is mention of a natural disaster.
> 
> \- Thank you to anonymous beta for checking over the fic. Any remaining typos/grammar mistakes are mine \o/

Byulyi believed in legends to a certain extent. There was a happening, and people talked too much about it that the truth became hidden within fancy words and not the words themselves. There might be an artifact as well, at the time of the happening, and it may look mysterious enough to match the thrilling story.

Many would have doubts about it, of course, but others would have enough motivation to search the corners of the globe in hopes to find the truth, and perhaps, would pay a considerable amount of money to obtain artifacts weighed by tales. Which in this case, was a red, shimmering gemstone that carried a sweet legend with its curvy form. Several versions of said legend actually.

It was just a few minutes before midnight when Byulyi reached the luxury hotel where she had been staying for the past two weeks, all in preparation for the arrival of Kan's gemstone. She adjusted her suit, her short-haired wig that kept itching the back of her neck, and let out a breath.

There was a chill in the air, creeping on each and every one of her nerves. The time was nearing, the time was getting slower, testing her composure even after years in the job.

 

It should be easy, a nine minutes window that would allow her to take the gemstone, but it was never easy. The risk of being caught was always high, and though Byulyi loved the little adventure every mission gave her, she had never eased her guard. No matter how much faith she had in her skills.

Byulyi walked out the elevator and headed for her room, all the while, repeating the steps she would follow like a mantra. When the hour would tick twelve, only two security guard would remain near the museum's team's suite. It was a three days trip for the team, who were transporting a huge collection of small artifacts to another location, two days of it to be spent at the university of arts and history. Exclusive lectures and student-restricted exhibitions had been planned for the non-famous pieces, and for Byulyi, an opportunity to obtain a certain gemstone.

Byulyi had spent days and nights preparing for tonight. She had never allowed any attention to center around her, memorized the staff's shifts, and even checked the guests' list constantly, worried that another seeker was after the same goal as her. So when a cleaning trolley was postioned at the empty room just above the suite where the collection was tucked safe for the night and the door was barely opened, her heart beat a little faster.

,

One thing that Yongsun liked about legends and myths was the adventures they would pull her into. Modest adventures, true, not magical enough to tell the future generations, but they fulfilled her curiosity nonetheless.

Yongsun had always preferred the old mansions and the haunted remains where the darkness of the night was so vivid and the only living beings beside her were the bugs, the owls and the stray animals. It was always creepy, she wouldn't lie, but the thrill that would flow within her and tickle her fingertips was worth the thundering pace of her heart.

Yongsun loved myths, she loved the secrets lying within their words and she loved the worlds that they would intrigue her to discover. She loved them enough that she would follow the crumbs they left in her way even if that meant going through the risk of being caught examining a Kan's gemstone when she shouldn't, and being expelled from university before finishing her master's degree.

But the marvelous red of the gemstone had taken her breath away, and though she worried, she didn't hesitate to take it and leave.

Yongsun held the rope tightly and climbed back up to the empty room. It was a rough climb, but the years of chasing tales of the past had provided her with experience and skill. Still, it was a hard climb with the maid uniform she was wearing as disguise, and the fact that the gemstone pressed into her chest didn't help. But the view was something; the river beside the hotel gleamed, portraying the serenity of the night, while the people and the cars remained a faint, calming addition.

With a suppressed grunt, _and a curse,_ Yongsun made it to the window and lifted herself to get inside, only to be shocked by a shadow near the chair and a soft voice.

"Need some help there?"

Yongsun shrieked at the same moment as her stomach clenched in a way that pushed the air out of her lungs. She held the side frame of the window to support herself, but her balance had already been shaken.

Yongsun didn't think about falling, or the rope, she only grabbed the pointy shoulders that suddenly were within her reach, and strong arms wrapped around her. In an instant, she wasn't falling to meet concrete, instead, she was engulfed in a warm embrace that didn't allow her to slip out of it despite her knee hitting the person's belly.

 

A groan escaped the person under her, as well as a stream of curses that gave Yongsun the chance to catch her breath.

"Oh, shit! Shit! Are you okay?" Yongsun asked, a lovely scent capturing her attention for a mere moment before she realized that she was still half-sitting on the person under her. She shifted her weight, her heart pounding in her chest. "Are you hurt?!"

Yongsun noticed the wig pushed to the side, and the softness under the girl's fluttering eyelashes. She attempted to move, but like a fire that breathed a needed breath, a dark red glow appeared in her chest. It expanded until it washed over her before she could panic and get the gem out of her clothes.

,

 

At first, air left her lungs and a heavy ache settled in her back. There was a girl sitting on top of her with widened eyes, her cheeks red and her hair resting on her shoulders in such a fascinating manner that Byulyi missed what she said. She met the girl's eyes and felt the worry in them strike at her heart. The girl shifted, her weight resembling a warm blanket that eased away Byulyi's panic about her plans.

Byulyi tried to sit upright, but a crimson gleam had appeared under the girl's clothes. Sudden, expanding and not quite terrifying, Or so Byulyi wanted to believe, as she couldn't tell which was more important: getting up, freaking out, or falling into the girl's trembling irises. Byulyi let the cloud engulf her, she heard a gasp and the walls and chairs faded into a gloomy, blue sky while winds howled in her ears.

It happened in a heartbeat, an eternity of its own. Cold was wrapping around her like a cloth tailored only for her. It touched her knuckles as she hugged an old, sleeping woman in her arms, and it reached her bones. It had stung her eyes, drawing more tears to follow the dry ones, and washed over her shaky arms and legs with hurried breezes that smelled of dirt and smoke and flowers.

She was no longer crying, _Byulyi was longer crying._ She was determined, angry, heart swelling with sorrow. Around her, unfamilir, injured people shouted and wept and the clouds above seemed to be closing upon her as if to mend her aching heart.

The ruins spoke of what happened, and perhaps so did the saddened sky. But Byulyi knew, from a mind that wasn't hers, that the warning for the hurricane had come late.

 

The crimson came in a wave, so quickly, so unfortunately, drawing her back to the hotel room and Yongsun. The actual Yongsun, whose fear was painted on her features. Her chest was heaving, Byulyi's, too, and she made a shaky attempt to get the red glow out of her blouse.

The gemstone, it was real.

Yongsun dropped the gemstone as if it was a fire that bit her fingers. She murmured an apology, trembling, tears shimmering in her eyes.

All the while, Byulyi stared at her, not knowing what to do. She wanted to reach for her, for Yongsun, and soothe the sadness in her heart away, a fleeting desire it was, but words failed her and her strength abandoned her as she absorbed the current of contrasting feelings whirling inside her heart. All she could do was watch Yongsun run away and hear the alarm she had set go off.

She had a few short moments to leave, but Byulyi relaxed on the floor, months' worth of planning reaching an unexpected end. The gemstone was an arm lenght away on the floor, a swaying flare still glowing in its core.

Byulyi closed her eyes, a tear escaping the corner of her eye. Amazed she was, and her heart filled with an inescapable grief.

 

,,

 

It was a lot to get used to in the time a week and five days had to offer, but Byulyi found a way to carry on with the doses of sorrow and anger and other different feelings. They came from a life that wasn't hers, a stream crashing into her entire being.

Byulyi stared at the headline on her laptop's screen. _Students Break into Alak, A New Discovery Is Made._

It wasn't hard finding out who Yongsun was, not for Byulyi at least, but living with a memory from Yongsun was unnerving, especially with the gemstone being prominant in her sight and mind. It looked even more dazzling under the strong sunlight filling her room with familiar warmth, its undying flare calling for her to seek Yongsun. That's what Byulyi felt, at least, as the heaviness settling in her chest was becoming increasingly pronounced as time went on.

Byulyi questioned if meeting Yongsun would fix things, but she wondered about the person whose existence she had fallen into more.

It had been a close call, being caught back at the hotel. After finally coming back to her senses, Byulyi followed the steps she had prepared, and with littel changes, any suspicion was drawn far away from her.

And despite having the gemston in her possession, she couldn't see the mission as successful. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she focused on Yongsun.

,

Yongsun had started counting the minutes five days after her last adventure. There was a void in her life, an incomplete moment. There was an echo of a missing sorrow that made sleep a stubborn need, as though it was hiding with a stranger wearing a wig.

For how long had wished for the ache in her heart to ease its grip on her life? The same ache that burnt like a fuel to get her to where she at. To make her who she was today. A dreamer, ambitious, who was still longing for her family and still loving her family. She remembered the same, but that day of the hurricane, that single day when they left no longer weakened her one moment and gave her an endless strength the next.

Yongsun knew that wish lasted longer than she could remember, but now that the pain was gone, now that the loss was nothing more than images in her head, Yongsun wanted it to return.

 

It was a cloudy day, a little brighter than the on in her memory of that day, and the class felt dull when Yongsun had wished it would serve as a distraction from what happened.

Yongsun still remembered how it felt, she watched the person who saved her live a moment of Yongsun's own life. It felt strange and overwhelming.

_She shouldn't have left the gemstone,_ a thought reminded her. It angered her as much as the fact that... of all the versions and tales about the gemstone, it had to be this one that was real. But the person, the person only raised her curiosity as if they were a legend of their own.

Yongsun sighed, trying to focus on the professor's excited words. A big part of her still wanted the gemstone. She couldn't go back to the hotel after the museum gave petty threats of finding the thief. _For heaven's sake, it wasn't even a popular artifact! And, technically, the gemstone still belonged to Kan people._

The gemstone simply disappeared. Because of her.

Yongsun was actually furious .

Yongsun didn't realize she was lost in her thoughts again until her classmates started getting up. She covered her face with her hands and breathed deeply as students hurried to leave and the nerve-wrecking quiet started to loom over her. She shouldn't ahve freaked out, she should have been more careful and focused on the gemstone, not lost in her emotions.

With a sigh, Yongsun collected her things and got up when the door was opened and closed. She hoped for a break from thinking about her failure, and perhaps her wish had been just granted.

There was a familiar girl waiting at the door, a backpack on her shoulder and her hair a beautiful shade of brown. Yongsun recognized her immediately, and without realizing, heat rushed to her cheeks. Her heart hammered in her chest as the girl approched her seat, a lovely upturn from her lips when their eyes met intensified Yongsun's nervousness a little more.

While the girl laid her backpack on the table, Yongsun couldn't resist staring at her slim figure until a familiar red drew her attention.

"I believe this belongs to you?" The girl said in a warm voice, capturing a beat of Yongsun's heart.

All that Yongsun could think of was the glow, still swaying like a serene fire. Oh, and the girl's tender smile.

,

Her name was Byulyi, Yongsun learned, and it may and may not have been a concidence that she was at the hotel room, disguised in a look that wasn't quite her own. But she wasn't a creep! She simply was good at finding information, Byulyi had stressed and swore, the nervous smile on her lips and the red washing her cheeks and ears spoke of her sincerity.

Also, the fact that she didn't report Yongsun sort of confirmed the latter's conclusion about her.

_She was cute,_ Yongsun decided as Byulyi stood near the window. _Charming._ "What are you going to do with it?" Byulyi asked, pulling Yongsun out of her daze.

"Hm? Oh, I'm not keeping it. I was never going to," she replied, indulging in the flutters and warmth in her stomach. A combination that she liked being caused by Byulyi.

Yongsun reached to touch the gemstone, but pasued in hesitation. She feared what reaction she might trigger.

"It didn't do anything for the past two weeks, and it still won't turn off."

Yongsun looked at her, a furrow was wrinkling Byulyi's brows. _Adorable,_ Yongsun thought, then remembered. "I don't think it would do anything again, but turning it off..." she smiled at the thought. How could one turn off supernatural forces?

"Did you know?" Yongsun asked, holding the gemstone carefully in her palm, "the legend says there are actually eight of them. Scattered around the world."

Byulyi's smile widened. "I know it is supposed to guide lost ones to their homes, not play with memories. Ah, and there is also that story about the gemstone being the map for an incredible treasure," she said with a wishful voice.

Yongsun looked at Byulyi and saw the setting sun caress her with its soft rays. Her heart swelled with liking, beating a little fast, and the mention of memories was all forgotten. "That story was proven to be false."

"Yeah, but not everyone believes that. Many still thinks the map is actually carved on it, but I checked and found nothing."

"That's why you were there at the hotel?" Yongsun asked. And Byulyi's only answer was a quiet chuckle.

Yongsun knew she wouldn't be the only one seeking the gemstone that night, or any artifact of the collection for that matter, especially when the chance to obtain one was high.

"No," Byulyi finally answered, "I don't like dirt and chasing fantasies. Not to mention, searching for tresures takes years. I don't have the heart to wait that long, but others do." She was speaking with endearing confidnece, capturing more of Yongsun's focus, centering it around her. "And others... would pay a lot to have a lead or two to get closer to their breakthrough," Byulyi finished with a smile, folding her arms. "Sorry it might not be what you imagined about me."

It was then Yongsun's turn to laugh, although it was an obviously nervous laugh. "Oh, so I have been thinking about you?"

Byulyi only gazed at her before answering, a smile remaining on her lips. "I hope you were."

_Yongsun was._ For two weeks and four days, she had wondered about the person who lifted a weight off her heart, yet stole a precious cloud at the same time. She couldn't say that, however, she couldn't deny it, either. Words refused to obey her wavering want to deny.

Byulyi came to sit next to her. "I--I couldn't find anything about what happened. How to undo it or get the... memory back to you."

If anything, Byulyi seemed concerned, and adding that to the _Antiques Collector_ image, or the _Advanturer_ one, or even the _Thief_ image Yongsun had about Byulyi was actually fitting.

_Memories, right,_ Yongsun cleared her throat and leaned back on her chair. Only now remembering the gemstone in her hand and the little flare. It looked like an eternal fire, the flare, mighty in its tiny form.

"There isn't," Yongsun said after a moment. "A way to give it back, there isn't any."

 

,

If Yongsun's had her way, now that she had known who was the person that saved her, she would have thanked Byulyi a different way. A simple _Thank you!_ and a kiss on the cheek would have done it. Or, if Yongsun let her growing desire, and a little of her selfishness cloud her judgment, she would have gone with a dinner and a walk along the Central Park as a start. Then maybe a kiss if Byulyi was on the inside as she looked on the outside, beautiful. And perhaps a hug and a tug at Byulyi's nice shirt later in the night to invite her inside would be a great ending. But that was just Yongsun's wishful thinking after a few hours with a girl named Byulyi.

Plus, the only other idea she had was showing Byulyi her precious collection of antiques, which was a modest collection. So the gemstone's way it was. It had sensed the sincerity of Byulyi's action upon saving her, and for that, it took one piece of Yongsun's heart and gave it to Byulyi. An ocean of emotion, a depth of an important memory that Yongsun needed to move on from, even if Yongsun thought she didn't, _shouldn't._

Yongsun looked at Byulyi beside her. She seemed so focused on the screen. "The translation could be wrong, there must be a way to take it off," Yongsun said, her words were hurried. "I'm really sorry, Byulyi."

Byulyi met her eyes. "Do you want it back?"

It surprised her that she asked that. She attempted to answer, and Byulyi only showed her tenderness.

"I..." she tried again. "It is a burden. You shouldn't be carrying it."

"It isn't a burden."

"You only say that now, try living with it for the rest of your life," Yongsun got up, frustrated and angry anew. The indifference she felt about that day was unwelcomed. "Maybe there is a document that I haven't checked yet, or--" she started pacing the room, going through solutions she had already gone through.

"It isn't just a sad memory. I understand," Byulyi said after a moment. A glimpse of guilt flashing in her eyes. "It isn't just sadness," she said. "There is anger, fear. Thankfulness because you reached her before she left," Byulyi went on, tip-toeing on Yongsun's heartstrings. Neither was a good thing nor bad. "There is determination because you promised her, and there is hope, too."

Byulyi lowered her gaze. "It is a huge part of your life, and I stole it from you. Sort of. That's how it feels, right? It happened to you, and it changed you, but now I'm feeling everything about it and you don't."

Yongsun was angry, but Byulyi's voice was a gentle caress.

"It is okay to be angry at me or the whole world," Byulyi said with a smile. "And if there is a way to get it back to you, we'll find it. I promise."

Her smile was the soft breeze Yongsun needed to steady the ground beneath her.

"Are you always like this? Are you really just okay with being sad and miserable about something that isn't even yours?"

"Well," Byulyi's cheeks turned red. "Not exa-"

"Don't answer that," Yongsun interrupted her, shaking her head and walking toward her bed to lie face down on it. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have lost my balance in the first place," she said, her voice dimmed down by the pillow. "I am angry at you. A lot."

"I know, it's okay."

Yongsun peeked at her, she had heard the smile in her voice and it widened when she raised her head. "I want us to fuck, too, is that also okay?"

"One hundred percent," Byulyi answered right away as if the question was trivial, leaning back on the chair and laughing calmly.

Yongsun wined, burying her face into her pillow. She couldn't keep her anger at Byulyi a constant stream, she didn't want to try.

She wanted her feelings back, even if her longing and love for her family hadn't changed one bit, she wanted her memory of that day to be whole again, and while it hurt to have lost them, she couldn't helpt but to wonder how Byulyi is handling them in her life.

 

,

 

It took some convincing, but Yongsun finally agreed to at least eat something, and after four spoons of frozen ice cream, and a lot of gazing at the distance that made Byulyi feel maybe it was better to leave and give Yongsun some time alone, the latter asked her.

_How does it feal?_

It felt like a bang in her chest sometimes, but how could she tell Yongsun about her own pain? She answered with _It is just there,_ focusing on the ice cream in her bowl, _but sometimes, I want to cry, or stay in bed the whole day._

Regret had been obvious on Yongsun, darkening her features in a way that tempted Byulyi to cheer her up.

"Hey, but it isn't just that, I swear. The other day, I had this rush of motivation to continue my research about the Aria archive. It's been a long time since I abandoned it, so it isn't all bad."

There was a shimmer in Yongsun's eyes, a faint surprise drawn on her face. Or maybe it was disbelief. "You are researching about the Aria archive? You know about the Temple?"

_It was disblief,_ Byulyi laughed before answering. "I never said I didn't like legends."

"Tha--wow, wait. You just said you don't like dirt and waiting that long! Don't tell me you are planning to sell your research, too" There was still a shadow in Yongsun's eyes, but a notable brightness had coated her voice. Byulyi was pleased with that.

"What? No! I love the story," Byulyi said with excitement she couldn't hide, "and it isn't like I'm spending my whole day on it. Just most of it, and I think I'm on to something."

Yongsun stared at her, mouth opened and eyes wide before she fell into a fit of loud laughter that Byulyi couldn't help but to fall with her.

"You are unbelievable," Yongsun said, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. Byulyi remembered _their_ tears from that day, she cleared her throat as their laughter trailed off and ignored the hurt expanding withinh her.

"I still can't believe what happened," Yongsun spoke a moment later. "The gemstone is actually real," she met her eyes, "we actually confirmed that legends are real."

"Okay, I wouldn't go that far," Byulyi said with a chuckle, standing up.

"I'm serious," Yongsun replied, "if this one legend is true, what makes the others aren't?"

"Everything?" Byulyi grabbed her jacket and backpack, it was getting late and she didn't want to make Yongsun dwell on the ache she no longer had and that Byulyi carried.

"Maybe there are missing pieces that no one has found yet, key pieces that would trigger the effect."

"Or a situation like the one we had?" Byulyi asked, her smile was still present. Only for Yongsun perhaps.

"Yeah, I'm still angry at you, don't mention that night ever again," Yongsun said, making Byulyi only dip more in the growing affection and happiness that Yongsun had planted within her heart.

 

They gazed at each other as they stood at the door, the seconds seeming to pass slowly just for them.

"So, I guess this is goodbye," Byulyi said, adjusting her jacket. She knew it could never be goodbye, not with a part of Yongsun in her heart. "When, um, I find something about how to reverse what the gemstone did--"

Yongsun neared her, and stood on her bare toes. She rested her hand on the nape of Byulyi's neck, and pulled her for the softest of kisses. Or was it Yongsun's lips that tasted soft, wonderful?

"This is goodnight, and call me," Yongsun let out, her lips just inches away from hers. Her breaths warm and quick on Byulyi's jaw, and her warmth welcoming.

Byulyi smiled, and Yongsun whispered a _Bye_ before closing the door.

 

_How does it feel? My... feelings in you. My own pain._ Yongsun had asked.

They felt like a heaviness that Byulyi couldn't quite move, and yet Byulyi would have it weigh on her just the same if the alternative meant never meeting Yongsun.


End file.
